Prairie Sportsman

(jaunty music) (lively music) I'm really excited today to be beside this lovely cottonwood tree along the Minnesota River. People might not realize that cottonwood trees get a very bad rap. If you've ever talked about, you know, the little fluffy snowy-like cotton that flies around in the air in July, or if people have pools, and they kind of land in a person's pool, or because it's a poplar, their branches break off easily, and people might get some of the sticky cottonwood bud film on their vehicle windshields. So all of these things add up to, I think, the cottonwood tree being so undervalued and underappreciated. It's a pretty marvelous tree and I'll tell you why. The entire tree is medicinal and it's edible and oftentimes people would not look at these buds and think that it would be something that you could eat. That contains a chemical compound that's actually used in our aspirin, proven anti-inflammatory properties, antimicrobial, antibacterial. (upbeat music) The best time to harvest cottonwood buds is actually during the cooler weather because you don't get the stickiness all over you. I never take the buds directly from the tree. As I mentioned, it is a poplar tree, branches fall all the time, and usually after a good wind or a storm, you walk around any cottonwood tree and you're gonna see what I call medicine drops all around on the ground. So no need to take them off the tree. They're right there on the ground for the picking. And when you're looking there, at which ones to pick, you do want them to be firm to the touch, and preferably still kind of a greenish shade. You can harvest them when they're darker than that. In the winter times you'll see that often, and that's fine too. But this, what I'm holding right here is kind of like primo. These are really good buds. So what I am gonna do to make the balm or salve is I will go home and I will just simply pluck the buds right from the little branch. I fill a mason jar halfway full with the buds, then I top the mason jar off with the extra virgin olive oil, and I let them soak between six and 12 months. At that time, you can then strain that out, and then you can add beeswax on a double boiler to the thickness that you'd like, and boom, you have a cottonwood bud salve or balm, and that is excellent for achy joints, sore muscles, eczema, any variety of skin conditions, the stuff works wonders on it. Also, if you're not feeling well, to kind of rub it on your chest. It's an expectorant as well. So really it's kind of a miracle in a jar and it all comes from the cottonwood tree and their buds.